Políticas Públicas de Juventude em Erechim-RS: entre o real e o ideal

Abstract

The present research had the object of studying young people and youth public policies. The general objective was to investigate the interests of young elementary and middle school students in public schools in the city of Erechim (RS), to see if the youth public policies - expressed in the form of programs - contemplated what young people were looking for in the search. Thus, my research problem aimed to answer the following question: In what extent do the youth public policies meet the interests of the young people of Erechim? The research method used was qualitative and as a technique of data collection, the focus group. The analysis, organization and interpretation of the data was performed according to the method systematized by Bardin (2011), called content analysis. The speeches were grouped into seven categories and, as a result, it was possible to list, from the discourse of the youngsters, the programs that were reaching them, as well as their main areas or activities of interest. In this perspective, the main demands of the young participants in terms of public policies were presented in order of priority: 1) work and income - better conditions for the insertion of young people in the job market, in decent conditions and prioritizing their studies; 2) education - expanding the offer of higher education in the region in public institutions, providing language learning, vocational tests to help them choose their professions, increasing access to new technologies in schools and society, better accessibility, Study trips or study of the environment at the end of the ninth year of primary education and greater investments for education in general; 3) sports, leisure, culture and art - providing space for women's futsal / soccer practice, ample and safe place for practicing sports and leisure activities in the city and learning dances, such as samba; 4) security - focusing on prevention of school and social violence; 5) of health - reducing the waiting time and qualifying the attendance on duty at the public hospital in Erechim, as well as investing in equipment and hiring more doctors and nurses. In addition to these policies, it is also necessary to expand the channels of participation with young people in school and society; Understand that young people have the right to make mistakes; Work collectively so that school, government and society overcome the misconception that all young people have the same opportunities and that it is up to them alone to overcome all kinds of difficulties; And, finally, young people know how to position themselves and believe in their transforming potential for the future. I argue that even with some progress the existing youth public policies are still not close to the interests of young people as they could or should be, because little or no dialogue with them. Thus, it was possible to infer that the public policies made available at present do not contemplate the real needs of the young people of Erechim.